New Release–Wanderlust: a Literary Erotica Anthology

“Turn-ons include well-placed commas, devastating allusions, ten-dollar words, social commentary, moral ambiguity, alliteration.” As soon as I read the description on the website of MoFo Pubs, I knew this was somewhere I wanted to submit (fiction, that is).

The best turn-ons, the kind that weave the strongest spell, are those that engage your brain as well as your body, that serve up sensuality with flair. Such is what I try to deliver. I don’t see “literary erotica” as an oxymoron. For all the beliefs, emotions, sensations, anxieties, and rites of passage surrounding sex, it’s a strong contender for the most literary of topics. It certainly beats out taxes, though not necessarily death…

…and it may tie with travel. Discovering new places, or leaving the old ones behind; a hunger for different sights or sounds or tastes; short transactions or deeper exchanges with strangers you might never see again. And then there’s the logistics: carrying your baggage or finding somewhere to put it or forgetting it entirely, hoping your transportation doesn’t come to a halting crash, considering the sense of relief you might feel it it does–there’s a lot going on and going into your average case of Wanderlust.

I’m very excited to be part of this anthology for my first publication of 2017.

Wanderlust—a strong longing for or an impulse toward wandering.

The stories in this anthology explore the ramifications of wanderlust—with an emphasis on lust. Twelve tales of those who cannot stay still—whether by choice, curse, or circumstance. Men and women gripped by the impulse to wander, travel, explore the world—and explorations of the sexual encounters they have along the way.

The ebook is out in the Kindle store, iBooks, and Kobo, and a paperback version will become available through Amazon in April. Amazon will even provide an option to bundle the ebook with the paperback as a free add-on.

The first advance review of Wanderlust is 4.5 Stars from Samantha at the Book Owlery. She found “Soft, Rough” by yours truly “a  very, very nice shock”* and has great things to say about the rest of the stories as well, describing rich veins of both the literary and the erotic.

Before closing off, I’m excited to hint at further appearances in future anthologies from MoFo. And if you’re a writer who also enjoys alliteration, allusions, and the frisson of a well-placed comma, not to mention another of those most literary topics, you might check out their open call for submissions featuring Religion and/or Sacrilege.  It closes April 30th.

From “Soft, Rough”:

She napped away the rest of the afternoon on the couch and flew awake, hands hiked to claw, when the doorbell rang.

She unlocked the huge oak slab and pulled it back. Looked out at him. “It’s you.”

“It’s me. Your hair’s grown out.”

It had, enough that the tight curl was evident and hid the way her ears stuck out. Now if she woke in the night, she’d look in the dressing table mirror to the left of the bed and find a round-headed shape staring back at her. A shape she’d only belatedly recognize as herself. Probably a metaphor for her whole existence.

But he always recognized her right away, and more, he knew exactly what had changed. With a smile, she let him in.